


with you it's fine

by vanillacokecane



Category: Golden Child (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Bickering, Cats, Fluff, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mild Language, Strangers to Lovers, a lot of dialogue also im sorry, bobongbeom (??) annoy donghyun, dadi is a brat and so is joochan, dadi is a cat in here btw, for one scene only, it's implied they like each other but yknow it could be platonic too
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:41:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28402668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vanillacokecane/pseuds/vanillacokecane
Summary: Donghyun swore to himself that he’d never get himself near any animal because one: he didn’t want to have to deal with taking care of one when he already had a brother to deal with; two: they were awfully high maintenance and he couldn’t afford that; and three: he didn’t know what he would do if he got emotionally attached to one.So now what was he doing, squatting in front of the bush with the unnamed boy watching the little kitten in the box the next day?
Relationships: Hong Joochan/Kim Donghyun
Comments: 4
Kudos: 28
Collections: Golden Age Fic Fest





	with you it's fine

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt 312: Donghyun hates animals but one day is forced to take care of an abandoned kitten that a boy in his class found starving on the streets. The boy, who’s name is Joochan, Donghyun later remembers, explains that he can’t have pets at home and basically begs Donghyun to take the kitten in. Kitten shenanigans ensue, where Joochan comes over to his house almost every day to see the kitten, and Donghyun realizes maybe animals aren’t that bad after all.
> 
> there isn't much plot it's just fluff and donghyun being tired of joochan and their cat

Donghyun wasn’t heartless, he didn’t like that people assumed that about him. He just wasn’t a fan of the dogs barking in the middle of the night, birds chirping in the early morning, or cats standing in the alleyways when he was trying to walk to school. 

“I can’t believe you don’t like animals.” Bomin squinted at his upperclassman. 

Jaehyun squinted after setting down his notebook. “I thought you liked Bongji!”

“I do like Bongji… He is the exception.” Donghyun shrugged. His same-aged friend beside him let out a sigh of relief while his junior’s stare sharpened.

“You don’t like Joy?” Bomin’s eyes had a hint of hurt in them, his hand on his heart dramatically.

Donghyun laughed, “Your dog is a rat, Bbom.” He replied, lightheartedly.

“You suck.”

Rain, that had lightly tapped on the library window before, was now knocking against it with a fast rhythm. “Ah, I should probably get home now. My mom will start to call because of how hard it’s pouring out…” Jaehyun pulled out his phone and threw his bag over his shoulder.

“Yeah, I’ll go too. Donghyun, do you need someone to walk with you home?” Bomin picked up his umbrella, motioning to Donghyun.

He shook his head in response to the younger. “I’ll be okay. If I run into anything, I’m tough enough.” Jaehyun stifled a laugh and Bomin smiled a bit, two reactions Donghyun did not favor but expected. “You guys underestimate me too much.”

He watched Jaehyun make his way out, worry bubbling inside him. _Looks awful out there_ , Donghyun thought to himself. “You sure you don’t need someone to walk with you, hyung?” Bomin read the look on his best friend’s face.

“Huh? Yeah, I’m fine.” He forced a smile. His eyes creased up as they usually did, but it was easy to see past the unnatural look of it.

“Yeah, okay. If you run into another cat in the alleyway and your coward ass isn’t able to get across, that is not my fault.”

“Okay, okay!” Donghyun followed Bomin out the door, watching him from afar for a while before he eventually lost track of him.

Donghyun hadn’t really walked alone by himself but there isn’t much that could possibly go wrong, right? He sang to himself softly as he walked out of the campus until something odd caught his eye.

On the grassy part of the sidewalk, under a tree, he saw a boy squatting on the mud holding an umbrella in front of him instead of on top of himself. “Is there something wrong?” He asked softly as he approached the boy.

The other turned around to the sound of Donghyun’s voice, looking up with wide, sparkling eyes. His hair was absolutely drenched with rain water, his nose and cheeks rosy from the cold. He spoke up softly, “This little one…” Beside him, Donghyun could clearly see a small kitten in a box, a baby blue blanket set beneath it.

“Ah…” Donghyun backed away, slightly scared of the animal in the box. “Is it going to be okay?”

The other boy shrugged, a hopeless look in his face. “I’m not too sure… I want to find a place to put the box so she won’t get sick in the rain.” He kept the umbrella over the kitten, continuing to let the rain pour on himself. Donghyun sighed, and held his own umbrella over the boy.

“Follow me, I think I know a spot.” 

The other boy hugged the box to his chest while they both stood under Donghyun’s umbrella until he found a nice little spot behind a bush that would keep the cat dry and safe. 

“Thank you, thank you so much!” The boy had a happiness in his eyes that Donghyun didn’t quite understand. He cared too much for a cat that was not his.

The boy’s happiness seemed to be contagious however, for Donghyun felt a slight warmness towards his care for the kitten. “It’s no problem. I’m sure it’ll be perfectly sunny tomorrow.”

Donghyun swore to himself that he’d never get himself near any animal because one: he didn’t want to have to deal with taking care of one when he already had a brother to deal with; two: they were awfully high maintenance and he couldn’t afford that, and three: he didn’t know what he would do if he got emotionally attached to one.

So now what was he doing, squatting in front of the bush with the unnamed boy watching the little kitten in the box the next day? “I wanna keep her, but my parents wouldn’t be caught dead with a pet in their house.”

“Ah, that-”

“Are you able to keep a pet in your house? Do your parents allow it?” Joochan cut him off suddenly but unintentionally, letting out an awkward cough after noticing.

Donghyun stared at the other boy, blinking his eyes profusely as if it were a sign calling for help. _I don’t like where this is going. No sir._ “I don’t live with my parents, why?”

The boy’s face immediately lit up, a soft smile growing on his face centimeter by centimeter. “Could you maybe… keep the cat in your home for a bit? I’ll take care of her, I’ll come over sometime! But I just can’t have her in my own house… It’d be really nice if you could do this small favor for me.” Donghyun laughed a bit in his head, _like having an entire animal in my house is a small favor. I already have a creature called my brother, I don’t need another one._

“Well... I don’t know...” Donghyun stared at the kitten, who was looking up at him with anticipating eyes. He still couldn’t figure out why someone would put themselves into the trouble of taking care of another being. “I’m not really the type to have pets.”

The other boy nodded slowly. Somehow, his face had no hint of sadness or disappointment, he just had another smile on his face. “That’s alright, thank you anyway. I’ll just take her to the vet and see what they can do. But if you ever change your mind, I can give you my number. Could I have your arm?”

Donghyun tilted his head, confused, but held out his arm to the other boy anyway. With a small felt marker, he wrote a series of numbers on Donghyun’s arm, followed by: 'Hong Joochan, the catboy from school!', a happy face scribbled messily after it. He smiled up at Donghyun childishly, almost like he was proud of his work. Contrasting that, he took out his phone and asked Donghyun to plug in his phone number normally.

Joochan smiled, his mouth curling into a heart shape. “I’ll see you tomorrow...” He stalled, trying to search in his own brain for-

“Donghyun. The name’s Kim Donghyun.” The older replied back, a small smile on his face.

He nodded, cradling the box holding the kitten in his arms. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Donghyun.”

“Kim Donghyun!”

“Donghyun-ssi!”

“Cat boy!”

Donghyun didn’t know if Joochan shared a similar schedule and routine as him or if he was just everywhere all at the same time. One thing he knew for sure was that that boy would not miss a second of the day without approaching Donghyun and asking him about the favor. “Gosh, this kid…” He mumbled to himself.

“Donghyun-ssi, have you thought it through yet? I’m sorry if I sound desperate but… well…” Joochan let out a sigh but had the same smile stuck on his face. He let out a soft laugh to himself. “I kinda am.”

Donghyun didn’t miss the glimmering disappointment in his eyes. “Have you asked others?” Joochan nodded. “You brought her to the vet?” He nodded again. “Where’s she staying at the current moment?”

“There’s a cafe and the owner is keeping her in the back for the time being but he doesn’t want her to stay out there when it gets cold late at night.” Donghyun sighed, and Joochan couldn’t quite read the expression on his face. “I’m sorry for bothering you. I won’t ask again, thank you for your help-”

“I can keep her.” Donghyun replied, a smile of defeat on his face.

Joochan’s slightly wet eyes widened. Slowly but surely, his bright heart-shaped smile appeared back onto his face and he began to exclaim. “Thank you! Thank you Kim Donghyun! I’ll never be able to repay you for this but I’ll do anything you want me to!”

“Keep your voice down! People are looking at us!”

“Um. A cat?” Donghyun’s friend, Jibeom, pushed up his glasses like being able to see clearer would help solve his confusion.

Jaehyun raised a brow. “You’re telling me you, Kim Donghyun, woke up one day and thought: ‘Hey! You know what I wanna do? Adopt a cat!’?” 

Donghyun rested his head on the table in front of him, his voice muffled in his arms. “Not necessarily like that.” He lifted his head again. “The kid’s coming here so I can walk him and the cat home, so once he’s here, I gotta head home.”

“I see, I see-” Jaehyun was interrupted by the boy running into the cafeteria, waving to Donghyun with a smile on his face and a box in his other arm. Donghyun groaned as Jaehyun and Jibeom shared amused looks.

Bomin snickered amongst the same-aged friends. “Oh, I see why you wanted to adopt the cat now.”

Donghyun scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Shut up. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“So this is your place?” Joochan swayed from side to side as he walked, contrasting with Donghyun’s stiff, straight posture. He looked to his side to the other boy, who was still holding the cat in the box despite having visited multiple pet shops.

“Did you not get a comfier.. thing for her to sit in?” Donghyun pointed at the cardboard box. 

Joochan let out a soft laugh before looking down at the kitten inside. “She doesn’t want to get out of the box. Hopefully she can warm up to your place though!”

Donghyun unlocked his door and took the box from Joochan into his own hands, setting her on the ground of his living room. To his surprise, the cat made her way out of the box, waddling comfortably into his house. “Well, seems like she’s warmed up already?” Donghyun glanced over to Joochan who had the brightest smile he had ever seen on his face and a fond light shining in his eyes.

Donghyun sat awkwardly at his dining table working on his homework, watching over as Joochan played with the kitten. The cat very obviously enjoyed Joochan’s company, letting out soft and sweet meows at him as he gave her gentle pets. It was annoyingly cute, he didn’t think he’d ever see a cat as cute.

“Oh, here are these.” Joochan got up from squatting in front of the kitten and handed the other boy a bag of groceries he had pulled out of his backpack. “There’s food and some necessities in there but don’t worry too much because I’ll be stopping by to do most of the job caring for her. I’ll see you tomorrow-”

“Ah, wait.” Donghyun stopped him from leaving before debating if his next question would be a dumb one to ask or not. “Does she.. have a name..?”

Joochan blinked, looking off as if he were thinking deeply. “Hm.. I haven’t really called her anything except for ‘little one’. I’m sure you can think of a cute name for her! She’s staying in your house after all.” He stuck out his tongue playfully then continued making his way out of Donghyun’s apartment. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

 _He’s annoying._ Donghyun let out a deep exhale through his nose as he watched the boy walk out his door. He was left alone with the tiny cat, both equally unfamiliar with each other. He took in a sharp, deep breath. What did he get himself into?

He took a seat on the floor in front of the cat. “Alright, what do I call you… I could just call you ‘Cat’ until Joochan-ssi gives in and gives you a name.” The cat stared back up at him with a confused look. “Ok, I won’t do that. Kimbap? No… Berry? Hmm, no… Dongie? Wait no, that’s my name…” 

He sighed. “How do people give names to pets? Ah… Whatever, I’ll just throw random syllables together… Hm… I’ll call you **Dadi**. How’s that?” He asked the cat in a sweet voice, as if it was even able to respond.

She simply meowed softly back before, not curling up into a ball, but simply flopping onto the ground. The action made Donghyun laugh a little bit. “Ok, you’re kind of cute, Dadi. Still a rat though.” He reached into the grocery bag that Joochan had given him and pulled out a dish and a bag of cat food, pouring some out for Dadi. He hesitated with petting her, inexperienced with touching any animal.

Donghyun began getting used to it. Getting used to having a random animal in his house and a friend that he had barely met coming over everyday. Used to watching this boy look upon the kitten with such loving and warm eyes he didn’t understand. “Donghyun, why don’t you take a break from the homework and come here and play with Dadi?” Joochan played around with a clear plastic cup, holding it a bit off the ground and letting Dadi jump up and grab it with her little paws.

Donghyun shook his head, “I’m trying to get this done as soon as possible so I can have more freetime. She seems to be content with your company for now anyway.” He didn’t take his eyes off of his laptop, his expression cold and bored.

Joochan’s face scrunched up. “Hey, I know you don’t actually want to work on that. Just come take a break, it’s bad to stare at your computer for so long.” Donghyun’s eyes didn’t shift, but Joochan could tell that he was getting distracted by what he was saying. “You’re not paying attention to it either! Come here! I’ll continue to bother you until you-”

Donghyun sighed and set down his work, sitting next to Joochan on the floor. Joochan had a cheeky smile on his face, proud of his work annoying the older. “Proud of yourself, aren’t you? You’re a pain in my ass.”

“Glad to hear it, Kim Donghyun-ssi.”

Joochan handed him the plastic cup and he set a treat in it. “I saw this in a cat video, I wanna see if she’ll do something funny.” He put the cup onto the ground and she stuck her face into the cup desperately trying to reach for the treat, her face peeking through making both of them giggle. He took out the treat and fed it to her, petting her softly afterwards.

She purred and rubbed her head on his hand. Joochan’s eyes creased into semi circles as his lips curled up into a smile. “She seems to really like you.” He shifted his gaze to Donghyun, who was grinning at the kitten.

Donghyun felt his eyes on him. He looked back at the younger and suddenly felt his breath stilling. “Hey, why do you do that?”

“Do what?”

Donghyun’s eyes felt like an HD camera: they couldn’t seem to focus on anything other than Joochan’s round yet soft and sparkling eyes, his mouth slightly open in a small ‘o’ shape like a young cat. He’d never seen Joochan in that type of vision— maybe he was just sleep deprived.

“Your face…” Donghyun’s eyes suddenly unfocused and he could clearly see everything around him. “You always look at Dadi with this face where your eyes are all soft and shiny and you look really happy and fond over her.” 

“Ah…Well, I just love Dadi a lot. I’m really happy whenever I’m around her.” Joochan’s face didn’t change as he looked into Donghyun’s deep, confused eyes. “You get that feeling sometimes, right? I mean you might not really like cats but she’s a special one, isn’t she?”

Donghyun let go of the breath he didn’t realize he was holding. “Yeah. She’s a special one.” He scratched her lightly behind the ear, clearing his throat to fill in the awkward quietness.

Joochan’s head suddenly perked up like an alert dog, snapping Donghyun out of his trance. “Wait! You watch cat videos?”

“Huh? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You said you watched a cat video earlier! Ooh, Donghyun-ah, did Dadi turn you into a cat person~”

“No! And it’s Kim Donghyun to you!”

_Meow~_ Donghyun was just trying to sleep but as usual, animals were being animals and made their noises in the middle of the night. Specifically Dadi, who liked to roam around in the middle of the night because neither Donghyun nor his brother wanted to keep her from exploring when she wanted to. _Meow~_

“Dammit.” Donghyun shot up awake and carefully crept around his apartment to find Dadi right where she was when he had gone to bed. “You rascal, how could you be making such a ruckus without even moving…” He pulled out a little toy out of a grocery bag that he had gotten with Joochan and dangled it in front of Dadi, who only tilted her head and walked away uninterested.

“Okay, maybe toys won’t work right now, we’ll have to wait for Joochannie to come over again to see if you’ll play with it. You like Joochan more than me, don’t you!” He interrogated the cat playfully, pulling out a finger gun and being surprised to see her playfully fall over. “Huh! Did Joochan teach you that? You’re smart…”

Donghyun scratched the back of Dadi’s ear and fed her a small treat. “You’re really just like a mini me, huh.” She tilted her head slightly again. “Right, I’m talking nonsense. I don’t really have anyone else to talk nonsense to though. Bomin, Jibeom, and Jaehyun will tease me for my stupidity. But you won’t do that because you’re a cat and you’re not like a mean human who will judge me.” He said teasingly, even with a bit of pettiness in his tone.

“Thank god I met you and Joochan that day.” Donghyun smiled softly at Dadi, who was trying to fit herself in his hands for more pets. He began talking to himself rather than to the cat who was unable to respond. “He’s really something, isn’t he? He cares so much about you, I’ve never seen anyone like it before. He’s also like a cat, that cheeky boy with his big eyes. Very… annoying...”

Suddenly he felt a heat rush to his cheeks. Donghyun shook his head, trying to get himself to stop thinking more nonsense when he realized where his mind was trailing. _What the hell is up with me recently…_ He looked down at Dadi, who was curled up and fast asleep. _His eyes curled up as an eye smile grew onto his face. Ah, I guess I should head to sleep too._

“Morning, hyung.” 

Donghyun shot back up out of bed when his brother entered his room. “Ugh… What do you want… Why are you waking me up this early on a weekend…”

“Uh, right, your friend’s here.”

“What, I told them to come over at 3-” Donghyun jumped out of bed and successfully set the record for the fastest he’d ever gotten ready in his life. He peeked out to see a familiar head of brown hair, quickly hiding back behind his wall. “Why… is Joochan here?”

“Hell if I know. I let him in though so you should probably go out there.” His brother replied, nonchalantly, pretending that he didn’t hear Donghyun mutter ‘now why would you do that’ under his breath.

“Good day?” He exited his room, seeing Joochan in round specs and a hoodie -- quite an oversized one, Donghyun noted.

Joochan’s ears perked up and he turned around, greeting the older with a sweet smile. “Hi, Donghyun! Your brother let me in, I hope you’re not uncomfortable with that… I just wanted to come over to check up on Dadi again.”

“I see… Do you want me to stay out here with you?”

Joochan blinked curiously, searching for words before settling on his response, “Sure. I enjoy your company anyway.”

Minutes passed like seconds, soon becoming hours of just them laughing and bonding over the animal Donghyun had wanted to avoid weeks ago.

“So… you like Dadi yet?” Joochan seemed determined to make Donghyun into an animal loving person like himself.

“...What is the reason you’re asking?”

Joochan had the same cheeky, irritating look on his face as usual. “Mm, just curious.”

“You’re always curious… But she’s ok, I suppose..”

“Sure… Well, what about me?”

“How am I supposed to know if you like her or not?”

Joochan laughed to himself awkwardly. “I mean, do you like me yet?”

Donghyun stared, the other boy blinking back at him innocently. Donghyun didn’t think that Joochan had realized what he had just said. He didn’t know why he found the question hard to answer. “I mean-”

A knock interrupted their awkward silence before a loud voice came from behind their front door. “Hey, we’re here!” The door swung open, revealing Bomin who was the owner of the loud voice (Jaehyun scolding him shortly after). 

This was when Donghyun started to regret giving his friends copies of his house key because here they were, staring down at him and Joochan on the floor, shoulders touching, his cheeks slightly pink while Joochan’s eyes were wide open and sparkling as always.

“...Did we interrupt something?” Jaehyun cut the unusual quietness, Jibeom letting out a small snicker behind him. Donghyun sighed in annoyance.

“Sorry Joochan, I forgot these kids were supposed to come over today. You can stay if you’d like, I don’t think they’d mind.” Donghyun’s face was flushed with embarrassment. Joochan chuckled fondly and looked up at his friends, who were nodding and greeting him with friendly grins.

“It’s ok, have fun with your friends! I’ll be back on Monday.” Joochan gave the older a small nod before whispering to him. “But I have one question to ask you.”

“What is it?”

Joochan’s lips suddenly grew apart into a wide smile, “Do you wanna go out to get coffee with me this Friday?”

Donghyun turned bright red, too scared to glance over to his friends to see if they saw the expression on his face. It didn’t help that it felt like Joochan’s face was inching closer to his, even if they were still a good distance apart. My heart continued to beat at a fast rhythm, distracting him from his own thoughts. “I-”

“It’s ok if you don’t want to, I can just talk to you at school-”

“Sure!” He spat out, eyes shut. Somehow, he was scared that he’d open his eyes and find that he was just dreaming (or even worse: that he wasn’t). Yet in front of him was not his bedside but was still Joochan, staring back at him with his sly, catlike expression.

“You always take so long to respond to my questions.” Joochan jumped up, slightly startling both Donghyun and Dadi, who fell over in the older boy’s arms. “My treat, by the way. I’ll see you!” He bowed to Donghyun’s friends and joyfully made his way out.

Donghyun didn’t know why he accepted it. He didn’t like coffee. And he didn’t like Joochan, he was just an annoying cat to him, he only considered him barely a friend. But even he couldn’t keep the smile from his face.

“Look at him!”

“Ooh, our Dongie-hyung’s got a date~”

“Shut up, would you!”

“Hyung, hyung!” Donghyun felt somebody shaking his body furiously awake. “Dadi, she-”

“What?” Donghyun shook his head sleepily to try to get his brother off of him. “What’s she doing?”

“I think she ran away.”

He felt his heart drop.

_“What?”_

Maybe it was when his friends had left the house the other day and left the door open for a few minutes. Maybe it was sometime in the middle of the night when she could find some window to sneak out of or something. Whatever it was, he couldn’t remember. He couldn’t even think clearly, he could barely take in what his brother had just told him.

“Hi, have you seen a small white cat? She has big blue eyes and she’s quite fluffy- No? Alright, thank you anyway.”

“Have you seen a white kitten anywhere around here? No? Okay, sorry to bother you.”

Hours passed by quickly yet also feeling like far too long while he and his brother walked around the neighborhood searching for Dadi. Donghyun was persistent even once the sun had fallen.

“Maybe we can continue searching tomorrow, hyung. She’s going to come home eventually.” His brother looked at him with eyes of false hopefulness.

This was all a mistake, it’s always bound to screw up somehow, if he had not agreed that day maybe it would’ve been fine. Dadi would be with a different owner and he wouldn’t get attached. _Joochan would know what to do in this situation… Why do I always need him in situations like this?_ Donghyun held his breath to try to keep him from shaking, picking up his phone and finding Joochan’s name in his starred contacts.

“Hello?”

“Joochan-ssi…”

“Your voice is breaking, what’s wrong, are you ok?”

The words Donghyun had staged in his head suddenly disappeared from his train of thought and instead tears found way to his eyes.

“Donghyun-ssi?” Joochan continued on the other line. “I’m coming over.”

Joochan was an athletic kid already, but he didn’t know that he could run as fast as he did after Donghyun had called him. Even if he hadn’t seen Donghyun’s face, he’d never heard Donghyun in that kind of state before. He stopped in front of his apartment, which he had stamped in his memory for the past few weeks, catching his breath before knocking upon Donghyun’s door.

The door swung open, “Hey, what’s wrong-”

Donghyun flung himself into Joochan’s arms, feeling small despite being nearly the same height as the other. He was never the one for physical touch, but he was too overwhelmed to care— all he needed was a hug. His tears began to soak into Joochan’s shirt, “I’m sorry Joochan-ssi, I screwed up… Dadi, she’s gone, she’s lost, I don’t know what happened, maybe I didn’t take care of her well enough-” It felt like he was stuck in the rain again, but the kitten staring up with him with sad eyes was nowhere to be found.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay.” Joochan gently held the other. “She’ll come home one day, I’m sure she’s ok.” Donghyun let his head rest on Joochan’s shoulder, becoming less tense. Somehow, Joochan’s presence helped calm the storm Donghyun was stuck in the middle of. He felt safe. He didn’t feel like a stranger.

Donghyun slowly pulled away and Joochan took his hands into his own smaller ones. The younger gently squeezed and released his hold on Donghyun’s hands at a steady rhythm, helping Donghyun steady his breath. The smaller’s tears continued to spill out of his eyes, causing Joochan to frown and bring his hand to his face, gently wiping his tears and cupping his cheeks in his hands. His hands were cold but they filled with warmth, some hint of a feeling that everything would be okay.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. We can try to find her or try to bring her back home somehow. If not today, we have so many days to find her. Alright?” Joochan’s eyes glimmered with hope, his lips lifted up into a small, comforting smile. Donghyun couldn’t help but feel jealous that Joochan didn’t feel the same hopelessness he did. “You remember you saved her right? You’re doing a good job taking care of her, Donghyun. We can find her.”

They left out Dadi’s favorite blanket in her old cardboard box and some food outside of Donghyun’s apartment in hopes it could bring her back. “We’ll have to see tomorrow, I guess.”

“Don’t sound so sad, Donghyun. It’s unlikely she’s too far from here.”

“Is she home yet?”

_“Nope, not today.”_

“Have you found her yet?”

_“Nope. We’re going out again tomorrow.”_

Donghyun began getting used to _this,_ and he hated that he did. Each day Dadi wasn't home felt like another punch in a gut. His body bubbled with all sorts of guilt: guilt that he couldn't take care of Dadi well enough, guilt for every neighbor he bothered with the question, and guilt for Joochan whom he promised he'd protect Dadi for. He wasn't sure if he had enough tears to shed for the kitten he told himself not to get attached to or enough curses to yell at himself. He wasn't even sure if he had enough hope to keep himself going but still, everyday, he went searching...

_Meow~ Meow!_ Donghyun heard a small cat scratching at his door, a very familiar one at that. “Ugh.... Wait!” He shot up, immediately grabbing his phone as some sort of light. “Dadi?”

He walked (he would’ve run, but he didn’t want to wake up his brother) to the door and right on the welcome mat was in fact the small white cat.

“You’re a real trickster, aren’t you? You made your older brother cry, you know that?” He picked her up and led her to her usual spot, setting her on her pillow and pouring out some food for her. “How did you get out?” 

She didn’t seem like anything had changed, just like she had gone off to a vacation. She purred softly before turning her back towards her older brother, curling up in her bed, and sleeping, ignoring Donghyun who was near tears after finding her.

He laughed softly to himself, “God, you’re a brat.”

“Any luck finding her yet?” Jibeom said, food stuffed in his mouth.

Donghyun grumbled something along the lines of ‘swallow your food before opening your mouth’ before speaking up again. “The little shit came back in the middle of the night like nothing happened.”

“Well, does Joochan know?” Jaehyun asked, his mouth also full of food. Donghyun sighed, giving up with his etiquette lessons.

“No, he doesn’t yet.”

“Actually, you know what, hyung?” Bomin set down his spoon, leaning forward with his fingertips pressed together dramatically.

“Should I be afraid of what you’re about to say?”

“No!” His face scrunched up in playful irritation. “What I was going to say was… if you text him that he doesn’t have to come over for Dadi today and he comes anyway, it means that he cares about _you._ ”

“What does that even mean? What even is that logic?” Donghyun tilted his head and raised a brow.

“Dunno. But if you keep whatever I said in your head until you get home, that means that you feel something towards him too.”

Donghyun snorted. “You’ve been reading too much romance fiction. Do you know what’s coming out of your mouth?”

“Hah, no.”

The three older friends looked at each other in confusion before Jibeom playfully ruffled his hair. “Alright, cupid kid.”

Donghyun sat in the cafeteria waiting, waiting to see if Joochan would show up to hear the news he wanted to tell him. He came every other day, why did it have to be this day in particular where he wouldn’t show up? 

“This is ridiculous, why am I upset…” Donghyun picked up his bag, running his fingers through his hair in frustration. 

Donghyun pulled out his phone, finding it boring to walk home without a friend by his side. _You have one (1) voicemail from Hong Joochan-ssi (Catboy)._ He held his phone up to his ear listening to the words closely. **“Hey, it’s Joochan, in case you don’t have my number saved.”** _Pfft._ **“Sorry, I’m not going to be able to come to school today, I’ll try my best to meet up with you to look for Dadi but I’m really sorry if I’m unable to make it.”**

Donghyun snickered to himself, he was really worrying about nothing. He hesitated a bit, standing still right in front of his door. His fingers moved faster than his brain did as he called Joochan and held his phone back to his ear. “Hey, you feeling okay?”

“Yep, everything’s alright. How are you feeling?”

“I’m okay, you’re not going to have to come over today, you know.”

“Really? Would you… be opposed to me coming over anyway?”

Bomin’s words kept playing in his head, _if he comes anyway, it means that he cares about **you.**_ What in the goddamn was that even supposed to mean? _If you keep whatever I said in your head until you get home, that means that you feel something towards him too._ He groaned and shook his head, trying to rid his head of the odd thoughts coming into his brain. Curse Choi Bomin and whatever the hell he was trying to say.

“I guess not, I’m alright with it.” There was silence on the other end. “Well I'm home so... I’ll call you back later?”

He unlocked his apartment and screamed out, “Minchan, Dadi, I’m home-” Donghyun dropped his bag on the ground, his mouth still hanging open, his voice coming to a complete stop before he was able to finish his last word. “ Why are you here?”

Joochan, who was seated on the ground where he usually sat, looked up from his phone and immediately jumped up. “S-sorry! Your brother let me in, I hope this doesn’t seem weird or anything! I mean, I was just coming over to see if you were doing okay, I promise I’m not like a weird person or anything-”

Donghyun’s soft laughter cut the other’s rambling off. “Don’t worry about it, I didn’t misunderstand. You come over all the time anyway.” He closed the door behind him and took a seat behind Joochan. “What are you up to?”

"Just doodling... Here look." He turned his phone to show the other a small doodle of a fox. _This kid really does like animals, doesn't he..._ Honestly, Donghyun didn’t think he’d ever had a conversation with Joochan that had to do with anything other than Dadi until then. 

"You've got an awful lot of notifications, kid." He snickered as notification banners peeked out of the top of his phone. "Quite popular?"

Joochan shook his head. “Nope, just messages of information if anyone’s seen Dadi.”

“Wait, have you not seen her?” Donghyun asked, causing Joochan to raise a confused eyebrow. He immediately jumped up and searched around for a moment before pulling a healthy-looking Dadi away from a trash can. “This little brat… I wanted to tell you sooner but I didn’t see you at school so I didn’t have a chance to tell you in person- Joochan?”

Joochan had his head down, his hair covering the side of his face that was facing Donghyun. Only slightly, he could hear the younger laughing softly -- or crying, or both -- to himself. He looked up with his usual wide, heart-shaped, crooked yet charming smile. “I told you, dumbass! I told you she’d come home and you didn’t believe me!”

“Hey, why are you the one crying?!”

“So did he come yesterday?”

“Bomin.” Donghyun rested against the wall, letting out an annoyed sigh.

“Well, did he?” The three others rested on the grass, Bomin resting his head on Jaehyun’s lap and Jibeom half asleep with his head on Jaehyun’s shoulder. Donghyun wasn’t a fan of skinship, so he stood apart from the cuddly bunch.

“He did. But what do you guys know about feelings anyway? You flirt so often with each other but don’t catch feelings. Look at yourselves now.”

Jibeom snickered, making Donghyun squint suspiciously. Jaehyun cleared his throat. “Anyway… speaking of feelings, look who’s coming!” The three sat up, watching a familiar brunet male with glasses from afar.

“Kim Donghyun-ssi!” Joochan waved before running towards the group. “I had something to give you.”

Bomin never missed a moment to laugh and tease Donghyun, who kicked him lightly in the butt. “What is it?”

He took a tangerine and a small mint chocolate out of his pink fluffy jacket, taking Donghyun’s hand and placing the gifts into his hold. “The tangerine is for you and the mint chocolate is only because I don’t like mint chocolate.”

Donghyun held back a smile. “Well goody, I like mint chocolate. Don’t forget that we’re going to the cafe later today!” He yelled back as Joochan began to walk away.

He spun around and sent the other boy a wink and a finger gun signal, “Who am I to forget anything? Hi Jaehyun, Jibeom, and Bomin!” He turned back around and yelled out, pointing a finger gun up at the sky dramatically. “Call it a date, Donghyun-ah!”

Donghyun flushed bright red at his last remark, the other three turning just as red with laughter afterwards. “Cut it out, catboy!”

Donghyun walked through the door of the cafe, greeted by the sound of a bell ringing softly, lo fi music, and the strong smell of coffee that he wasn’t too big of a fan of. Joochan, in fact, didn’t forget and waved to the older from a table a few feet away. He had tidied himself up in a turtleneck and fluffy cardigan with the same spectacles that made his eyes look even bigger somehow. It contrasted with Donghyun, who felt content with just a t-shirt and black hoodie until looking at the other now.

“Hey, what are you all dressed up for?” Donghyun set his bag down, sitting on the chair across from Joochan. “It’s just me.”

Joochan grinned. “I like looking pretty.” Indeed, he did look really pretty, Donghyun thought to himself. “Are you gonna order anything?”

He shook his head. “I’m not a big fan of bubble tea or coffee.. But it’s okay!” 

Joochan’s mouth curled into an ‘o’ shape as he nodded slowly. “Well hopefully you like chocolate shakes because..” He placed a drink in front of Donghyun, smiling brightly. “But if you don’t, I can drink it myself.”

Donghyun’s eyes curled up into crescent moons as his smile grew from behind his lips. Joochan had never seen that type of look on Donghyun’s face before, but it filled him with all sorts of butterflies. “Thank you, Joochan-ssi.”

“Are we going to continue with the honorifics?”

“Not unless you wanna keep saying Kim Donghyun-ssi all the time.” They both snickered.

“Donghyun, there’s actually something I wanted to tell you,” he set down his cup of coffee. “I felt like it was hard for you so my family friend offered to adopt Dadi if you couldn’t take care of her. She’ll be in good hands so if you feel like it’s a tough job to take on, I can always bring her there. I can still take her to visit you whenever you want to see her too-”

“Joochan, I…” Donghyun took a deep inhale before speaking his next words, the first decision in a while he hadn’t hesitated with. “I want to keep Dadi.”

“Even if it’s hard?”

Donghyun’s face scrunched up but he relaxed into a soft smile again. “Yeah. As long as you’re there with me, it’s fine.”

He watched as Joochan’s face slowly grew a few shades of pink. “So.. you want me to keep coming over? Do you know how many years that’ll be? My parents aren’t going to let me move out and keep a cat anytime soon, you know.”

“Then I suppose she’ll have to stay with me for those years and you’re gonna be there with me.” Donghyun adopted Joochan’s sly expression onto his own face, making Joochan giggle softly.

“Well then,” he stood up and held his hand out to Donghyun, “I suppose I’ll be coming over to your house for the rest of the years we live.”

Donghyun grinned and took his hand into his own hold, shaking it firmly. “Sounds like an amazing deal, Hong Joochan-ssi.”

**Author's Note:**

> the first work i'm contributing to this site is already something as ambitious as a fic fest entry .. i hope i did this prompt justice because it's just so *heart eyes*


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